WEST CHESTER, PA – A new look with the same old aspirations await West Chester University's women's swimming & diving program as it heads to Southern Connecticut State for its 2024-25 season opener Saturday.
Eighth-year head coach
Steve Mazurek has grown accustomed to seeing four, or five, Golden Rams in the finals of the distance events at the conference meet. That might not be the case this winter. However, rest assured that West Chester's women's swimming & diving program will continue as a favorite in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) while qualifying multiple swimmers for nationals come spring.
One distance swimmer who scored at NCAAs, team co-captain
Dani Stewart (Dover, Del./Caesar Rodney) returns to ease that burden felt by graduation. To combat the void left in the distance events, Mazurek has sprinters and specialists training with the distance swimmers to strengthen the Golden Rams throughout the lineup. Mazurek is hoping that leads to a more balanced squad – one that is not weak in any area – and that is where the coaching is most important.
"We graduated a lot of national talent last season," Mazurek admitted. "Those athletes knew the program inside and out. But if this group is looking at it the right way, things should look wide open. There are a lot of opportunities to step up, add events, and get faster."
A total of 12 letterwinners return in the pool while four divers are back and ready to compete for a shot at nationals. The specialists have always been strong and will be again. That will make the relay teams strong as well. Six swimmers, who qualified for the NCAA Championships last spring, are back while five have graduated and moved on. That nucleus is critical to team cohesion that Mazurek promotes every day in practice.
The strengths of this year's women's team is the work ethic and the attitude of the swimmers. That is where the leadership of the upperclass comes into play. The ladies on this team are not afraid to train harder and add events for the betterment of the team. The make-up of relays was never really in question over the past three years while West Chester was winning conference championships and sending a large portion of its roster to the NCAAs. This winter, that may change.
Stewart and her other co-captains,
Sam Trumble (Dallastown, Pa./Dallastown) and
Bella Kil (Enola, Pa./East Pennsboro) will help create that work ethic in practice every day.
Yes, we haven't forgotten about the Golden Rams' dominance in the PSAC over nearly two decades. West Chester has won the last three conference meets and 17th title in the last 18 years. In fact, the only year in which the Golden Rams did not take home first place was the year that the team did not compete in the conference championships (2021) due to Covid-19.
"I'd like to think that we could be a more balanced team," Mazurek said. "We can't afford to be weak in an event. It's going to take a total team commitment, and that's all on me. I need to hammer it home every day – that every athlete knows they can contribute. A good training environment needs to offer opportunities to compete and communicate."
With four divers returning to the fold, Mazurek and diving coach
Steve Kuttruff, are excited about the potential of this group to push each other to challenge for a spot at nationals. Experience and training are on their side heading into the new year. Kuttruff is in his third year as head of the divers and brings a celebrated resume to the team. Both Steve's like where the diving program is headed.
